Airlines test 'shark skin' to reduce fuel bill

Airbus and German airline Lufthansa have partnered to test a shark-skin coating for their airplanes. Well, not actual shark skin, says Bloomberg, but a synthetic replica, part of the continual effort to reduce airlines' massive fuel bills.

Experiments reveal the ridges in shark skin cut down on the friction between the shark and the water, channeling the water and even speeding it along as it moves over the skin and preventing eddies, which contribute to drag, Bloomberg says.

Lufthansa estimates the material could cut its fuel cost by $94 million annually at current prices.